I've been pretty quiet on LinkedIn recently. At one time, it was a space where I shared articles, posts, commentary, and more just about every day. If not daily, you could count on seeing a post from me at least three or four times a week.
This year has been somewhat odd, and I think it's had an impact on how I've wanted to show up on social media. Between my role being eliminated, searching for a job, and trying to find that delicate balance of being visible yet not verbose and salesy, mixed with landing a new role in a new industry with new people, it's caused me to sort of want to rethink how I package my brand online.
It doesn't mean I'll be dark for long, but it does mean I want to be mindful of how I recraft my brand through all the change.
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I think part of that is realizing that your professional brand changes as you change. The version of me who was posting constantly a few years ago was in a different place in his career, had different goals, and was trying to create different opportunities. I still believe in being visible, sharing what you know, and building a body of work people can find, but I also think there are moments when you need to stop and ask whether the way you've always shown up still makes sense for where you're headed.
There is also a difference between disappearing and being intentional. I haven't stopped writing. I haven't stopped thinking about leadership, careers, sales, growth, and all the things I've spent years talking about. If anything, I probably have more perspective today than I did a year ago. I'm just trying to be a little more thoughtful about what belongs on LinkedIn, what belongs in my newsletter, what belongs in a conversation with my team, and what doesn't need to be shared at all.
Starting a new role has probably influenced that more than anything. When you walk into a new company and a new industry, there is a period where you should probably listen more than you talk. You have to learn the people, the language, the customer, the market, and the problems before you start acting like you have all the answers. I've spent a lot of my career being the person with a point of view, but there is something refreshing about being the new guy again and having to earn that point of view.
I also think I'm less interested today in posting just to post. LinkedIn can create this weird pressure where you feel like you have to constantly feed the machine or people will forget you exist. I don't really believe that anymore. I'd rather share something when I actually have something worth saying than manufacture a lesson out of every meeting, flight delay, cup of coffee, or random interaction just so I can stay in the algorithm.
Maybe that's what this next version of my brand looks like. A little quieter. A little more selective. Still opinionated, still willing to share what I'm learning, and still willing to talk about the messy parts of careers that people don't always want to talk about. Just with a better filter around what I put out there and why I'm putting it out there.
The important part is making sure the version of you people see online still feels like the version of you that actually exists.
I'm sure I'll find my rhythm again. I always do. For now, I'm okay with giving myself some space to figure out what that rhythm should look like instead of forcing myself back into an old one. Careers evolve, priorities evolve, and brands probably should too. The important part is making sure the version of you people see online still feels like the version of you that actually exists.